By 2016, the Tea Party may have gone the way of the religious right of the 1990s or the anti-immigrant Minutemen of the 2000s. And yet the question remains whether the Tea Party's demise will produce a kinder, gentler, more cooperative America--or...

Tuesday October 29, 2013, 4:51 pm
Very interesting. Don't think the TP knows about kinder, gentler, more cooperative anything. They're an All or Nothing kind of group. They practice lies not truth, obstruct not compromise, outsourcing not incountry jobs...nope, not kinder or gentler there.

Tuesday October 29, 2013, 10:20 pm
I loved these sentences from the final paragraph of the article: "

The real threat to America’s large republic is from the far right. The middle-American radicals represent the dark intolerant side of American politics. They reject the attempt, beginning in the Progressive Era, to smooth the rough edges of a capitalism that, left to its own devices, leads to monopoly, inequality, and poverty. And they promote the polarization of the parties, making a functioning government impossible and throwing into question the Constitution they claim to revere."
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That pretty much describes our situation. Unregulated capitalism benefits a very small segment of our population. If the tea party does go down, what's there to miss? Hate? Greed? Conflict? Self-interest? A diminishing middle class? Gridlock? A dysfunctional Congress? Misogyny? Bigotry? Ted Cruz? Michele Bachmann? Sarah Palin? the Koch Brothers? I don't know of anyone who'd miss them or their self-serving philosophies --other than Fox News, of course.

An excellent and thought-provoking article, Carrie. Thanks for posting it!

Wednesday October 30, 2013, 6:08 am
"“Unfortunately this time the outcome ended with the Ruling Class in D.C. forcing their will on the American people, but this fight is not over,” the Tea Party Patriots declared soon after the impasse was resolved."

Oh, they just call themselves the Tea Party these days, but this bunch have been around since the founding of the Republic. The good news is they apparently cannot read nor interpret polls and have no idea, it seems, of the damage they have done to the republican party as a whole. I believe the Republic is at its best when there is a vigorous exchange of ideas and then a compromise that all parties can accept as in the long term good of the country. There are such republicans now, and many, many democrats as well as members of the Green Party, like Jill Stein (when I took a survey last fall, I found identified more with her vision than the President's. Unfortunately I also knew how close the race would be and could not afford a chance of Romney being elected, so she did not get my vote. After this latest fiasco, the republican party is at its lowest point in decades, all due to a small number of radicals who lied to get their jobs. They all campaigned, even at the state level on jobs, jobs, jobs. But once in office did no work but establish a war on women's rights, minorities, the elderly and all things that do not profit the one percent. The good news is I really think they have no idea how badly they have damaged the republican party at a time when it is critical that our leadership begin looking far down the road and enacting policies and laws to address issues that must be addressed, primarily in infrastructure, roads, sewers, water mains many of which have been in existence since the late 1800's and are costing a fortune to repair on a daily basis. We did at one time have statespersons in our national leadership who could see down the road and vote accordingly. Unfortunately, the Tea party and many republicans can no longer see beyond the next election and are willing to leave to our grandchildren the job of trying to save our country and our world. I do believe they will see in 2014 and 2016 just how far out of step they are with the American people in their policies and their childish behavior. I don't think they've sunk as far as they are going to. And, as bad as that is at the moment, it is very much in the best interests of this country that they stay the course because it will definitely sink their ship. Soon.

Wednesday October 30, 2013, 7:22 am
Personal opinion is that the Tea Party has it's place in history ... creating awareness and a flashback to basic responsibilities, morals, need over greed and power. With that now obviously done, they should blend back into the main party and remove a division of method not policy which has been siezed upon.

People who think for themselves and watch results rather than headlines posted according to points gained will have their voices heard in upcoming elections. Stay tuned ...

Wednesday October 30, 2013, 5:01 pm
The references to the left trying to ruin the country, and to the baggers wanting to get rid of New Deal sounding things, reflect the conservative agenda, as i have mentioned many times. But, "ruin the country" really means "Keep me from getting even richer." And, some of these fools are li, who want less government interference, are like the fools who have been seen carrying signs saying "Keep your government hands off my Medicare!"
Sadly, they will be back. The Koch brothers, and other major Plutocratic, greedy bastards, will not just walk away, will find another way to manipulate these super-independent-I-live-in-my-own-special-world fools, to do their bidding, again.

Wednesday October 30, 2013, 5:30 pm
And good riddance to them! They have been poison to the GOP. Until the Republicans stop kissing up to the Religious Reich, they are a lost cause. Too bad, because I believe in free enterprise and individual responsibility.

Wednesday October 30, 2013, 5:46 pm
Noted. They started out as "Taxed Enough Already"---which I would agree to, our "middle-class" taxes ARE comparatively way too high....if only they'd gone after the 1%--- who SHOULD be taxed more. Maybe if they'd focused more on reining in the military-industrial-corporate complex, and not being hateful misogynists, they'd have expanded more into the mainstream. Maybe if they'd also focused on protecting whistleblowers, rather than hanging them out to dry, their numbers would've grown. Maybe if they'd asked for protection of those most in need, they'd have had a longer shelf life. But, they got co-opted by Big Money very early, and their meme turned ugly; so they turned off the majority, while taking bundles of cash from a few self-interested greedy 1%-ers. Doomed.